John Shea

New Jersey State AFL-CIO

The mission of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of working families, to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to the community and to unite all New Jersey local unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO to work together to accomplish these goals. We will build a broad labor movement of workers by organizing workers into unions. We will create a broad understanding of the need to organize among our members, non-members, and members of the community. We will encourage all workers without regard to race, creed, color, sex, national origin, age, disability or sexual orientation to share equally in the full benefits of union organization. We will build a strong political force and electoral power for working families in New Jersey by encouraging members of the community and labor movement who support progressive values to register to vote. We will educate, mentor, and support union members to run for public office at all local and state levelsand to stand up for middle class families, through the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates program. We will establish a strong progressive legislative agenda that will speak forcefully on issues that affect the lives of working families on all levels of government. We will change the labor movement by forging strategic alliances and joining in unity with our state's diverse community organizations including civil rights, faith, student, women, and retiree groups to foster an era of collaboration never before seen and to bring about the highest degree of progress for New Jersey's working families. We will work to educate the general public and the state's youth on the integral role of unions in our society and to build a thriving labor movement for the next generation.